SWAPA issued this statement:

Voting opened on May 1 in the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s (SWAPA) strike authorization vote. This historic vote from the pilot union is taking place in the wake of Southwest’s epic December meltdown and after three years of negotiations with the company. “We have been attempting to negotiate with Southwest in earnest for years, but they have shown no willingness to address some of the issues that impact not only our pilots but our customers as well, such as scheduling work rules and technology improvements. It is essential that we modernize systems and procedures to be able to keep pace with other carriers and give our passengers the level of service they expect,” said SWAPA President Casey Murray. “The lack of discussion or commitment by our leadership team to rectify these issues for our passengers and our pilots are driving us to carry forward on this path afforded to us by the Railway Labor Act.”

The strike authorization vote opened on May 1, and will close May 31 and will ultimately give the pilots the ability to strike once released to self-help. Murray continued, “We believe that this timeframe gives our customers time to book elsewhere, so that they can have confidence that their summer vacations, honeymoons, and family outings are assured.”

While the final vote will not be counted until the end of May, the Association is already seeing strong voter turnout and positive response. Murray stated, “The decision to authorize a strike is not one we have taken lightly, but given the lack of accountability and dearth of leadership exhibited by our current executives, we felt that this was a last resort to try to force them to face the issues plaguing our passengers, our frontline employees, and our pilots.”